The Middle East

Saudi Arabia

Forced into extinction

LIKE much that moves in Twitter-mad Saudi Arabia these days, it started with a single message. A lady in Dammam, the hub of the oil industry on the kingdom’s Gulf coast, tweeted a complaint from a local shopping mall. Agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), she said, were causing an unpleasant scene. The government-salaried vigilantes, a bearded auxiliary police force familiarly known to Saudis as the Hayaa, had marched officiously into an educational exhibit featuring plaster models of dinosaurs, turned off the lights and ordered everyone out, frightening children and alarming their parents.

It was unclear precisely why the religious police objected to the exhibit, which apparently had been innocently featured at shopping centres across the Gulf for decades. Malls are one of the few public spaces where Saudis mix socially, and so often draw the Hayaa’s attentions. Gone, however, are the days when its agents can go about their business unchallenged.

Within minutes of the incident, a freshly minted Arabic Twitter hashtag, #Dammam-Hayaa-Closes-Dinosaur-Show, was generating scores of theories about their motives. Perhaps, suggested one, there was a danger that citizens might start worshipping dinosaur statues instead of God. Maybe it was just a temporary measure, said another, until the Hayaa can separate male and female dinosaurs and put them in separate rooms. Surely, declared a third, one of the lady dinosaurs had been caught in public without a male guardian. A fourth announced an all-points police alert for Barney the Dinosaur, while another suggested it was too early to judge until it was clear what the dinosaurs were wearing.

Not a few tweets cast the incident in political terms. "Why close the show?" asked one. "It's not as if we don’t see dinosaurs in newspapers and on TV and in the government every day." "They should go after the dinosaurs who sit on chairs," suggested another, seconded by a tweep who advised that dinosaurs in gilt-trimmed cloaks, the garment of choice for senior sheikhs, would make a better target.

Several contributors injected bawdy innuendo into their comments. Noting that one of the displays showed a dinosaur riding on the back of another, one message declared that this was obviously sexually suggestive and possibly could be categorised as a Westernising influence. "I confess," declared one penitent, "I saw a naked dinosaur thigh and felt aroused." Another tweet provided this helpful tip to the suspicious CPVPV: "No, no, that long thing is a tail!"

But most of the messages singled out the religious police for ridicule. "They worried that people would find the dinosaurs more highly evolved than themselves," explained one. "It’s the Hayaa that should be stuffed and mounted so future generations can learn about extinct animals," quipped another. This message adopted a more pedantic tone: "Dinosaurs are a paleontological life form from an ancient geological era, and our clerics are a paleontological life form from an ancient social era." "Hello? Stone Age? We have some of your people; can you please come and collect them?" pleaded one tweep. Another wrote: "If the dinosaurs were still alive they’d be saying, thank God for extinction."

I'd really like to hear more often about funny commentaries by muslims like these. I mean for sure there are tons of funny people in muslim countries, but the media usually prefer the ones shooting white people with AK47s. What a pity!

The planet is 6000 years old.
Dinosaurs are fiction.
Dinosaurs were NEVER mentioned in the holy Koran.
***BTW neither were air conditioned indoor shopping malls with food courts, megaplex theaters and indoor parking.

I'd say much like the Iranian Basij they find their recruits among the young, poorly educated, sexually frustrated men that feel they are becoming increasingly marginalised by increasingly emancipated women in the middle east and asia. Hypocrisy is pretty much de riguer amongst their kind.

Great article!
I'd like to congratulate Saudis for their great sense of humor - You guys rock! :)
This kind of great humor flourishes under oppressive regimes in other Arab states and "Islamic" countries, and a similar phenomenon characterized citizens of former Soviet block countries.
Actually, they still tell similar jokes in Russia, poking fun at Putin's regime.
I wonder why.

What makes you think he meant the USA? "I am from India. Most people here have less intelligence than Dinosaurs", to me says that most people "here" ie, in India have less intelligence than dinosaurs.
No more pleasant a comment, perhaps, but not one to cause an American to get his knickers in a twist.

It's funny how we in the west are expected to respect every Islamic and middle-eastern custom, no matter how barbaric, mysogenist or ridiculous, but when we visit the Middle East our values and modes of behaviour are not respected.
I don't respect Saudi political, religious or social culture. Very few people do, including a lot of Saudis, I,suspect.

There are mosques and churches in Israel, because the they existed before the arrival of Jews in Palestine - i.e., the mass exodus of Jews evicted from Europe as a result of genocide. Israel has had a female PM - so has India, Pakistan, and other. However, in more fundamental terms, Israel is a theocratic state which practices apartheid. Israel is the total opposite of a country that can abide by secular, human values and modern principles of justice:

1. It is a theocratic state. Israel is a totally theocratic state. The Zionist movement was based entirely on quotations from books written 3,000 years ago - supposedly by God!!! "According to the Book of Genesis, the land was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson. A literal reading of the text suggests that the land promise is (or was at one time) one of the Biblical covenants between God and the Israelites." Have you ever heard such nonsense in your life?? Has any nation ever in modern history ever claimed title to land based on an ancient textbook, the author of which is a fictional character?? If you do not like theocratic countries, then Israel is the most theocratic country in the world, with apartheid formally written into their laws!!! Have you ever thought about this issue?? Their laws and day-to-day political discussions are based on ancient folklore and the OT which is very racist - non-Jews are practically (and legally, in some cases) considered inferior to the Jews (i.e., God's chosen people). Theocratic racism has led to apartheid being ingrained in their land laws.
2. It practices apartheid. "In a 2007 report, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Palestine John Dugard stated that "elements of the Israeli occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law" and suggested that the "legal consequences of a prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid" be put to the International Court of Justice. In 2009 South Africa's statutory research agency the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) published a report stating that "the State of Israel exercises control in the [Occupied Palestinian Territories] with the purpose of maintaining a system of domination by Jews over Palestinians and that this system constitutes a breach of the prohibition of apartheid."[45] The report was written by a team of international law experts and scholars and does not represent an official position of the HSRC. In 2010 United Nations Special Rapporteur for Palestine Richard A. Falk reported that criminal apartheid features of the Israeli occupation had been entrenched in the three years since the report of his predecessor, John Dugard. In March 2011, Falk said, "The continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem combined with the forcible eviction of long-residing Palestinians is creating an intolerable situation ... [and] can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing."

The UN's Special Rapporteur (on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967) is Richard Falk. He is Jewish, and is an American national.

In his August 10, 2010 UN Special Rapporteur report Falk detailed the accusation that Israel was practicing a policy of apartheid in the Palestinian territories:

"Among the salient apartheid features of the Israeli occupation are the following: preferential citizenship, visitation and residence laws and practices that prevent Palestinians who reside in the West Bank or Gaza from reclaiming their property or from acquiring Israeli citizenship, as contrasted to a Jewish right of return that entitles Jews anywhere in the world with no prior tie to Israel to visit, reside and become Israeli citizens; differential laws in the West Bank and East Jerusalem favouring Jewish settlers who are subject to Israeli civilian law and constitutional protection, as opposed to Palestinian residents, who are governed by military administration; dual and discriminatory arrangements for movement in the West Bank and to and from Jerusalem; discriminatory policies on land ownership, tenure and use; extensive burdening of Palestinian movement, including checkpoints applying differential limitations on Palestinians and on Israeli settlers, and onerous permit and identification requirements imposed only on Palestinians; punitive house demolitions, expulsions and restrictions on entry and exit from all three parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

Dozens of liberal Jews like the J Street movement, Noam Chomsky, Alan Solomont, Jeremy Ben-Ami, George Soros, Norman Finkelstein, Gilad Atzmon and dozens of other intellectuals and thinkers have written about the apartheid regime that Israel has imposed on the people of Palestine and they support the right of return of the Palestinian people to their villages and homes.

The problem with KSA is not the clothes, or the lack of individual freedom. Because of these issues and several others, KSA will never be a tourist destination - that is not an issue for anybody - after all there are hundreds of other places to visit on the planet. Based on my own observations as a business traveler, the bigger issues with KSA are as follows:

- It is a very rude society, which only respects money. Saudi people lack normal "middle class values". Their culture is based on the display of wealth.
- It is a very racist society, which looks down on all "non-white" people. Asian (and African) people are looked down upon - it is the worst place on the planet in terms of racism.
- The local food is awful, and so is the climate.
- There is hardly any culture, art, film, literature, etc. Other places in Asia are a pleasure to visit in terms of "local culture". Even a conservative country like Iran has a great culture, and it is a pleasure to go there.

Other than these factors, there are many negative aspects. Very oppressive forms of Islam (Wahhabi-ism and Salafi-ism) are both practiced and exported to other countries. In terms of its foreign policy, KSA is (like Israel) exceedingly pro-American (right-wing) in terms of supporting the colonial presence of American forces in the Middle East - presumably to prevent the overthrow of the royal family. KSA supports all right-wing causes and (in spite of huge resources - economic and military) is the most pro-Zionist regime in Asia - they fully support Israel's desire to bomb Iran. Very strange - their foreign policy is written in Washington!!!

I think the comment is correct. With the head-to-toe dresses popular (obligatory??) for women in KSA, it must be very easy for gays, trans-sexual people and cross-dressers to hide themselves. With so much hypocrisy and excessive use of veils, there must be a lot of sexual perversity and deviant sexual behavior in KSA.

There is a very fundamental similarity between Israel and Saudi Arabia - both of them are theocratic states. You call it a "liberal democracy" - yes, it is a democracy, but it is far from liberal. Israel is a theocratic state (like Saudi Arabia) which practices apartheid (like South Africa - till apartheid was overthrown). Btw, I have been to Israel, South Africa (in the apartheid period) and Saudi Arabia.

"As far as foreign policy, yeah KSA is a servant of Israel and the US, no one disagrees on that" - your comment. Thank you for agreeing with my point that the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is made in Israel and in Washington.

On racism: all Saudi people are racists, from customs officials to hotel staff. I am Asian - but, I understand Arabic. "non-white" people are referred to as "maskeen" - I am sure you know what that means.

On food: the "local" food is very bad. However, Lebanese, Moroccan, Iranian and Pakistani restaurants have great food, but that is not Saudi food.

As a place to visit: Please ask any travel agent in the whole world - nobody wants to go to that country as a tourist.